Getting to know Van Gogh

BAILA LAZARUS

One of the hallmarks of a good performance is when time flies by so quickly that it seems you've barely stowed your soaked umbrella under your seat before it's time for intermission.

On the other hand, one of the detractions from such a performance is when an actor playing a Dutch character starts talking in an accent that ranges from slightly British to heavily Afrikaans. One can't help wondering if the director thought Van Gogh was born in Capetown rather than Zundert.

But once you get past the directorial decision for the accent, Vincent in Brixton, by Nicholas Wright, flows wonderfully. Combining the excellent performances of Vincent Gale (The Caretaker, Stones in His Pockets) and Seana McKenna (whose credits include a Jessie for Wit and leading roles at Stratford), Vincent feels like a good book on a rainy afternoon.

Based on the early life of Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent follows the painter when he is in his early 20s, having come to London to work for an art dealer. He finds a rooming house in Brixton and settles in, falling in love with Ursula, the elderly widow who runs the boarding house, as well as with her beautiful daughter, Eugenie (Moya O'Connell).

This is a great narrative of a period of Van Gogh's life prior to him becoming an artist. He didn't start to develop his own talent until several years later, although he had no trouble criticizing other people's work:

"With such beautiful art in the world, why would you want to add to it with such pathetic scribbles?" he asks Sam (Andrew McNee), another boarder and artist.

Vincent differs from portrait-of-the-artist films in that what we see is really a sweet love story between Van Gogh and Ursula, rather than a depiction of a semi-crazed artist bleeding all over his canvasses. In fact, it's not until very late in the play that we start to see the artist (and all his madness) start to emerge. Until then, he is a young adult, subject to the arrows of puppy love and vacillating sentiment.

The story of Van Gogh's life in England is known through letters he sent to his younger brother, Theo, as well as a memoir by Theo's widow and correspondence by Van Gogh's family. He moved to England from the Netherlands to work for the art dealer Goupil and Co. in the early 1870s, when he was 20. Over the next few years, he went to Paris, then back home, then back to Engand to teach, and finally back home in 1876. He produced more than 2,000 works of art of the next 10 years, before killing himself at the age of 37.

Vincent in Brixton portrays a glimpse of what might have influenced Van Gogh during this time and how quickly he went from an employable agent to an unemployable teacher who ended up working for free.

In addition to the minor problems of the accent, there are a few other weaknesses in the play. Though Van Gogh is not yet the suffering artist, he is somehow supposed to have the maturity and experience to empathize with Ursula's sadness and give the impression that he can look after her. But he is played as socially inept and rather naïve, so it's hard to imagine him being able to connect with anyone at such a deep level, especially at the age of only 20. As well, Ursula comments that she saw in him something "raw and suffering," but none of that is portrayed in Gale's performance. In fact, most of the time he comes across as a straight-man on some sitcom – the last one to find out that his roommates are having an affair, even though it's obvious to everyone else.

In fact, there were a few times when the play changes from a moving love story into a sitcom, with one-liners that play up the guffaw factor a little too much. For example, when Vincent finally finds out that Sam and Eugenie are in love, Ursula says, "We thought we'd tell you about it when we knew you better, but when we got to know you, we thought we better not." Or, "I've never been with a woman," Van Gogh tells Ursula after they've declared their love for one another. "I didn't think you had," she replies, extorting laughs from the audience.

But despite the laughs and lightheartedness, the play ends on a melancholy note. At the urging of his sister, Van Gogh leaves London suddenly, returning only years later to tell Ursula that he left in sorrow and that he considers his sadness her gift to him. Devastated, she can barely look at him and has no tolerance for his newly developed religious preaching. But Ursula knows that there was little chance of a happy ending, anyway. After all, "An artist ... only cares for himself. Otherwise, he's not much of an artist."

Vincent in Brixton is directed by Glynis Leyshon, with set and costume design by Pam Johnson, lighting by Itai Erdal and sound design by Allessandro Juliani. It runs at the Playhouse Theatre until Feb. 11. Tickets are $24-$51. Visit www.vancouverplayhouse.com or call the Playhouse at 604-873-3311 or Ticketmaster at 604-280-3311.

Baila Lazarus is a Vancouver freelance writer, illustrator and photographer. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.

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